Harness the power of article marketing

No matter what it is that you're marketing, article writing has the power to entice your readers to learn more about your topic.. Harnessing the power of article writing can help you har

THIS EBOOK IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY JOSIP BARBARIC I’M BUILDING A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS WITH TOOLS

AND TRAINING LIKE THIS FROM EMPOWERISM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents 1

Introduction to Article Writing 3

Chapter 1 4

Why Write Articles? 4

Anyone Can Write! 5

Why Write Unique Content? 6

Chapter 2 8

Elements of Successful Articles 8

The Breakdown 8

Constructing the Right Article 11

The Writer Resource Box 13

A Sample, If You Will 15

Chapter 3 18

Successful SEO Writing – The Mystery Revealed 18

What are Keywords? 18

SEO and Your Writing 20

SEO and Article Submission 21

Chapter 4 22

If You Just Can't Do It… 22

Places to Look 22

The Importance of Communication 23

One Stop Shops (Are They Worth the Expense?) 25

Chapter 5 27

You Have Your Article, But Now What? 27

Article Submission Directories 27

Blogs, Website Content and More 28

Where to Post, Exactly 29

Take It Offline 33

Chapter 6 35

Generating Interest with Publishers and Readers 35

The Publishers 35

The Readers 36

Chapter 7 37

EBooks and Articles: Making One from the Other 37

Define Your Topic 37

Choosing Your Content 38

Length, Structure and Other Variables 39

Promoting Your EBook (Can You Give These Things Away?) 41

Conclusion 42

THIS EBOOK IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY JOSIP BARBARIC I’M BUILDING A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS WITH TOOLS

AND TRAINING LIKE THIS FROM EMPOWERISM

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!

INTRODUCTION TO ARTICLE WRITING

The power of writing is unlimited Having that power and potential on your side is vital to your marketing No matter what it is that you're marketing, article writing has the power to entice your readers to learn more about your topic In addition,

a well-written article can give you the appearance of being an expert in a field, even if you know very little about the subject They key is to write well and

correctly market your articles

Writing has been a part of our history for a very long time The written word commands a lot of respect and attention Learning how to use this power can only benefit you and your needs A well-written article can command the

attention of your readers and increase your market recognition and branding efforts

The advent of the Internet has revolutionized the writing field, putting the power

of the written word in the hands of anyone with a word processing program A number of marketing programs have been based around article writing The sheer volume and diversity can sometimes be confusing Understanding how these programs work will help you decide if they are appropriate to your needs Article writing is something that anyone can do, with the appropriate tools

Thankfully, the Internet can serve as a promotional tool, as well as a tool for creating better writing The process of writing well does not need to be

mysterious, or daunting Anyone can write articles and receive incredible results from their marketing, if handled properly

Chances are that you have seen some excellent examples of how effective and engaging writing, as well as some examples of truly horrible writing Knowing how to tell the difference is the first step toward developing your own successful writing style There are a few common elements that apply no matter what you are writing Understanding these will get you on your way

CHAPTER 1

WHY WRITE ARTICLES?

Promotional material online usually comes in the form of articles There are commercials, flash format advertisements and even promotional movies, of

course However, articles are the single best means of getting noticed online, and many companies have noticed this There are several reasons for this:

 First, they can be easily reproduced on any website or article directory

 Second, they can be written quickly and are far less time-consuming to produce than other forms of online promotion

 Third, they can be produced very cheaply, especially if you learn how to write them yourself

The sheer number of promotional benefits of article writing should be enough to entice anyone There is no better way to promote your skills, products, services,

or company As mentioned, article writing can be used to set up a feeling of expertise This means that with a well-researched and well-written article you can gain the reputation of being an expert in almost any field

How are these articles used online? There are numerous uses for these articles They can be written for simple informational benefit In addition, they can be used for SEO purposes That doesn't mean that the quality has to suffer for the sake of keyword insertion, either A good article can be a launching platform for

an amazing marketing campaign, resulting in greater market share and greater recognition

The obvious use of article marketing is to draw traffic to a website Using articles for that purpose is much better than many other marketing methods, simply due

to the ease of creation and dispersion inherent with web based articles

Do not discount the benefit of cross-promoting with social sites like these There are millions of consumers on each, sharing information and helping to increase the reputation of websites around the world Harnessing the power of article writing can help you harness social websites and effortlessly (and cheaply!)

increase your recognition

ANYONE CAN W RITE!

Anyone can write Yes, you read that correctly However, it takes knowledge to write well An intelligently written article may sound out of reach, especially if you have to write it yourself and have no experience in the area This is actually a misconception held by many people around the world Writing is one of those arts that can seem shrouded in mystery and enigma How do you create clean, compelling copy if you are not an expert?

The first thing to understand is that you do not have to be an expert to write like one Anyone can write expert material if they have the correct research tools With the advent of Web 2.0, there are numerous educational resources available online to help you create clean content for your articles Using these tools is a great way to get accurate information However, you should never discount print materials, such as books and magazines The library can be your best friend when it comes to research

Learning the secrets behind popular articles is also a good way to help your own writing You can find examples of optimum article structure, paragraph and

sentence length, as well as many other tools Use these tools to your advantage Determining the right layout and structure is just as important as the quality of the content A high quality article set in the wrong format, with the wrong font size and incorrect placement, can be just as disastrous as a poorly written article The largest factor to remember about writing articles is that you are creating your reputation as you write Your readers will remember incorrect information and

poorly worded articles just as easily as they will a high quality-article, perhaps more so With each word you write, you cement your reputation as an expert or

a wannabe, so choose your words and structure with great care, especially when

it comes to web writing

There are several differences between print and web writing that you will need to know, as well Anyone can write effectively, if provided with the correct tools to

do so The single most important thing to remember when you are writing is that you must provide solid information that is accurate and not outdated The

Internet provides vast informational resources; however, you'll need to sort it for relevance and choose the tidbits that you wish to pass on to your readers

There are several other aspects to the business of article writing that will be covered in the next few chapters

WHY W RITE UNIQUE CONTENT?

It has become somewhat common for articles to pull double duty That is, they serve their purpose within article directories or ezines, and also serve as website content While this may be an accepted practice, it is not recommended Why not use website content as an article, or vice versa?

First, it can be detrimental to the health of your website Google and other

search engine giants are stepping up their efforts to stamp out duplicate content While it is not known exactly what they consider duplicate content, being banned

or blacklisted for it is definitely not something you want to happen

Second, duplicate content can appear to be plagiarism That single word is one

of the worst words a writer can hear Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work." Even if the writing is your own, readers may receive the impression that it has been stolen

from somewhere else Plagiarized content is a quick way to lose credibility with readers

Another reason to write unique content is that it gives you a chance to exercise your writing skills and influence readers on your own Whether you are talking about plagiarism or simply using article writing as a source of website content, the results can be bad for you Duplicate content can also give the impression that you are lackadaisical about providing information to your readers and would rather take the easy way out than write a new piece

As you can see, duplicate content is a bad thing for all involved By far, the best option is to simply write original content, regardless of the application It makes a much better impression when a reader follows the link from your article and finds additional, fresh content, rather than the same text that they just read In

addition, the more relevant and accurate information you supply to your readers, the greater their opinion of your efforts those readers will have

CHAPTER 2

ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL ARTICLES

Highly effective articles all have several things in common Understanding what those elements are and how to implement them will greatly enhance your own efforts Below, you'll find a list of these elements

 Direct and authoritative

 Industry correct phrasing

 Appropriate use of humor Now that we know what the elements are, let's talk a bit about each so that you can understand what they actually embody, as well as how to implement them in your writing

THE BREAKDOWN

Consistency of Voice: The voice of a written piece is distinct from the tone or

the style of the writing In this case, it refers to whom the article is written For example, a first person voice would be written as "I believe that you understand," while an example of second person would be "You can find more information by going to…" Third person voice is used mostly in professionally written pieces designed for specific industries and would appear "If the consumer desires to change the available options…" Maintaining a consistent voice of the piece is vital For instance, switching from second to third person and back is a quick

Consistent Style and Tone: The style and tone of an article directly affect how

readable the writing is, as well as its applicability to specific uses For instance, conversational writing is very laid back, while professional style offers industry specific phrasing and terminology Professional style pieces are also usually somewhat rigid in structure, though not always There are three main styles in use: conversational, personal and professional Each has unique benefits to specific applications and should be consistent throughout the entire article

Grammatically Correct: Correct grammar is essential to the impact of your

writing Incorrect grammar will instantly reduce the efficacy of your writing For instance, using “grammer” in place of “grammar” may seem like a trivial mistake, but your readers will catch it Remember, no spell checking program or

grammar-editing program will catch everything Invest in a grammar guide if you

do not have the skills required

On Topic: This is especially applicable to web writing If you change topics in

the middle of an article or use a subject in an area that it is not applicable, you will lose your readers This is actually relatively easy to avoid, especially if you

do your research on the subject Simply carry the same subject through the entire article

Concise: Online readers have a very short attention span You must make your

point immediately Usually, the meat of the matter should come in the first paragraph, or the very beginning of the second paragraph This also implies a lack of "fluff" within the article Use direct phrasing and make your point This does not mean that you should cut out all explanation and simply state facts, but you should aim for an even balance Ideally, your article should be interesting, informative and engaging

Write For Your Audience: Few things will make readers stop reading than

feeling like an article does not apply to them The best example of this would be

a highly technical article about industry processes submitted to a general interest format Most consumers do not have the time or interest to read this type of subject matter However, industry professionals would find it interesting Keep your intended audience in mind when writing and gear the piece toward them

Expert Tone: If you write as an expert, you can gain a reputation for being one,

even if you don't know a single thing about the topic There are thousands of places to get accurate, on-topic information Using these sources to flesh out your writing will result in that expert tone that you need Consumers are much more willing to accept facts from an expert than they are from an amateur

Direct and Authoritative: If your article rambles or has an indirect tone, it can

adversely affect the quality of your writing Use direct sentences, as opposed to indirect In fiction, writers are encouraged to always show action in their writing This applies to article writing as well Direct writing, where there is an identifiable subject and verb, rather than an inferred subject, will help your writing have more impact Write with authority, as an expert would

Statements made with an active voice instead of a passive voice convey

authority Note the difference between these two sentences:

 Most of the students are reading the book

 The book is being read by most of the students

The sentence makes more of an impact when the subject (most of the students) performs the action, instead of receives the action (being read)

Industry Correct Phrasing: Writing specific pieces requires

industry-specific phrasing and terminology For example, if you were writing about shoe construction, you would not refer to the shank as "the metal bit in the sole." Instead, you would call it a shank and underscore that it supports the foot and the stability of the shoe Keep your writing clean and professional, using jargon that industry experts understand and expect to see in such a piece

Appropriate Use of Humor: Humor is a wonderful thing; if you can include it in

your writing, then you are doing better than many professional writers That said, humor is not always needed, or even wanted This can be a touchy area When

in doubt, leave the humor out and try for purely informational content

CONSTRUCTING THE RIGHT ARTICLE

After you have digested the elements required to create a compelling article, it's time to look at the construction of your article While quite a few people feel that web writing should resemble writing for print, this is really not the case

sentence Doing this breaks the text up into manageable chunks for the reader

to digest

The font and font size used are also important Forgo flowery scripts and

obscure fonts in favor of something that is readable The font size should be sufficient that a reader sitting in front of a computer monitor can easily read the words without having to squint

Line length is another factor you must take into consideration When we read text on a page or a screen, our eyes tend to lose interest after about 60 to 65 characters across, so shorter line lengths make it easier for the reader to absorb your words

PARAGRAPH HEADERS

Paragraph headers are simply a form of title used to identify the topic of each paragraph These are an excellent tool to use when you have a large amount of information covering different elements of a single topic Use these headers in your writing where appropriate If it can be used to grab the reader's attention, then that's even better Paragraph headers also serve to break up the text and provide direction for the reader Readers can also use these to find portions of the text that most interests them

THE IMPORTANCE OF A TITLE

In many ways, the title of your article is the most important part of the article If it lacks the power to grab reader's attention, it will be passed over Frequently, the title is the only tool that you will have to draw your readers in and actually get them to look at your article So, how do you create a good title? There are several elements that go into making a good title Let's take a look

Concise: Long, rambling titles are like a creepy uncle; no one really wants to be

around them and will avoid them at all costs Make your article a catchy,

powerful reflection of the content found within

On Topic: Topic: Your title absolutely must reflect the content in the article

Giving it something catchy, yet doesn't have anything to do with the content, is a quick way to anger your readers and alienate your audience before you even begin Basically, don't make it sound like a technical manual, unless it is

Catchy: Your title should be catchy enough to grab the reader's attention,

immediately Avoid using all capital letters, as well; words like of, a, the, and, etc are not capitalized

THE W RITER RESOURCE BOX

The writer resource box at the bottom of your article is one of the most important components of an online article This is often the only place that you can put an outbound link, depending on the article directory you submit to Making the most

of the resource box is important and can be more difficult than you think Many article directories severely limit the amount of text within the box

Most of the time, the writer’s resource box is placed in the article by the article directory In order for someone to use the article with permission, the resource box must remain intact, regardless of where the article is used This box

provides vital information about the author, as well as the link to the appropriate website

There are several elements that must be included to make the most of this

valuable tool What, exactly, should be included in this box?

First you should include one to three sentences describing what you have to offer You should think of this like a sales pitch Make sure to start the pitch with your name!

Second, make sure to include a link to your website This will have to be in complete URL form, including the http:// portion This is where the majority of your traffic will be generated

Your call to action also goes in this section This is the part where you tell your readers how to get more of whatever product it is that they need, how to take care of their problem or get that loan Whatever it is that you are offering, make sure that you include a succinct, compelling call to action

Here is an example of a good call to action:

"Fabian Tan is the author of the free 51-Page Report:

"Murder Your Job: How to Build Cash Sucking Autopilot Businesses in 30 Days or Less!" Head over to http://www.MurderYourJob.com to get your free copy now before it's gone."

This example is short, sweet, and to the point The title is just enough over the top to make you wonder what it might offer Plus, the ever popular "free" is

employed to great benefit

You can also include contact information in the resource box if you like, though your website address is often the best contact method Above all, make the resource box compelling This is the part where you get rewarded for sharing your information free of charge Your reward will be in the form of increased traffic, if you have done your job correctly Remember, also, that the resource box should not be large and obtrusive; a size of 10-15% compared to your article

is more than sufficient

A SAMPLE, IF YOU WILL

Here are a few samples of effectively written articles The first is an abstract from an article about hydrology, taken from www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com, written by Murugesu Sivapalan

"Catchment hydrology is presently operating under an essentially reductionist paradigm, dominated by small-scale process theories Yet, hydrology is full of examples of highly complex behavior, including strong nonlinearities and

thresholds, and paradoxes that defy causal explanation through these scale process theories

small-There are strong interactions and feedbacks between processes, leading to apparent simplicities in the overall catchment response, yet the laws governing these feedbacks are not well understood Routine measurements and

specialized field experiments have been valuable for observing catchment

responses and understanding the underlying process controls, but there has been little progress in extrapolating the local knowledge and understanding gained from these well studied (or gauged) catchments to ungauged

something called "lute" for pipe fittings Lute can mean a musical instrument that

looks like a bulbous guitar, something valuable, or, as used here, pipe-joint

Here, you can obviously see the casual style, combined with correct terminology The result is an eminently readable article that is interesting and imparts

information important to the reader Note the moderate use of humor and laid back tone; these are indicative of a casual style, while the rigid structure of the first article is very common in professional style pieces

Here is a sample of a keyword article that uses good keyword density without feeling "stuffed." It was written by Zac Parker and found online at

www.keywordarticles.com

"So you've thought long and hard about getting a tattoo and you've decided that yes, you're definitely going to 'get inked'? If so, the next logical question to ask

is, "What design do I choose?"

If you have absolutely no idea about what sort of design you'd like superimposed onto your body, it's going to take you many hours of careful consideration You will need to view as many designs as possible, ensuring you make the right decision

Making the right decision is critical - so we'll help you find free tattoo designs! Making the right decision is really important when it comes to choosing a tattoo

buying something at the store, and taking it back because you've changed your mind

A tattoo - unless you undertake expensive, painful laser removal procedures - is for life That is why we advise you to view as many different tattoo designs as possible, so you make the right design decision If you've already been

researching designs, chances are you have heard all about free tattoo designs and galleries online where you can view and download individual designs of interest

It's an absolute maze online, because there are just so many galleries to check out, so to make the process a little easier and a whole lot more time efficient for you, we're going to introduce you to four good websites - membership-based and totally free- that are jam-packed full of free tattoo designs!"

Note the appropriate use of the keyword "Free Tattoo Designs" combined with the use of complementary keywords such as "tattoos." Also, note the fact that this author broke the paragraphs up into easily managed pieces, making reading easier This particular piece uses a conversational tone, is error-free and offers real information in addition to using the keywords

Search engine optimization does not have to be a mysterious process In fact, the process behind it is very understandable, once you know a few key pieces of information To understand the role of SEO in your writing, you will have to understand what keywords are, how they are used by searchers, and how they change your writing If you are a beginning to intermediate marketer you will want to learn SEO from true marketing experts Mastering SEO can make you a fortune, and Empowerism can help you get there

WHAT ARE KEYW ORDS?

Keywords are words and phrases used by consumers to search for online

information Any phrase or word entered into the search box of a search engine constitutes a keyword These are usually words related to an industry, product,

or service and are frequently combined with a location, such as "lawyers San Diego" or "cookware stores New York."

Misspellings can also be useful keywords, in their own right Search engines scour their archives, looking for the closest match to the word or words used in the search

Keyword articles are written with a specific word or phrase appearing throughout the article Many companies use an artificial keyword density in their articles to gain higher page rankings in search engine results For instance, some

companies require that the keyword or keyword phrase appear up to 15 times in

300 words In truth, this is somewhat excessive; a lower density will suffice

NATURAL KEYWORD DENSITY VS ARTIFICIAL KEYWORD DENSITY

There are two schools of thought in SEO writing, both of which offer results Artificial keyword density creates articles that feel stuffed and unwieldy, but they get results These do show up more often in the top ranks of search engines What are the drawbacks to this method? While an artificial keyword density will provide results, they are often not the long-term results that you really want Many consumers also have a negative opinion of articles written in this style, feeling that they are a paid advertisement (which they are)

Natural keyword density is something altogether different This method uses the natural occurrence of a word or phrase in the writing It offers slower results than keyword stuffing, but they are long-term results that offer visitors real information

as opposed to often sub-par articles created with the other method Natural keyword density implies a low keyword count (usually around 1 time per 100 words) and offers readers a much more readable article

As you can see, the best option is not to stuff your articles full of keywords Instead, rely on quality writing, natural keyword usage, and good submission practices If you can manage to hit the right combination of these factors, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results

SEO AND YOUR WRITING

Can you write SEO articles on your own? As mentioned before, yes, you can However, before you start jamming keywords willy-nilly into your work, take the time to consider whether you want short-term or long-term results The more often your keyword appears, the more your article resembles spam Readers have no tolerance for spam; especially when it’s masquerading as informational reading

However, a well-thought-out article, combined with natural keyword usage can be

a great solution for your needs It can serve on article directories as well as web content (don't do both, though!) This style of article will provide the needed number of keywords for search engine recognition, while remaining readable and full of informational content for your readers

Your usage of SEO practices will be dictated by your needs, ultimately The

"quality vs quantity" question will have to be answered by the type of results that you expect, what you are marketing, and your intended readers Regardless, the first step will be to determine the keywords and phrases that you should write about You can come up with your own list of keywords, pay a company to

develop a list for you, or you can use the user-friendly keyword suggestion tools

Developing a list of viable keywords should be the first thing that you do, whether you pay for it or do it on your own You'll want to avoid single words if at all possible Single words, such as "wedding" or "loan" cover far too much territory

to get any sort of relevant hits from them

Instead, use related keywords to form keyword phrases; "wedding dress

manufacturer" or "loan application online." These will give you much more

relevant results and much more traffic

Using appropriate keywords and phrases, combined with appropriate keyword